Thrill-seekers were on a paranormal trip around the notoriously creepy site when an eerie orb appeared next to the picture of Richard Caton, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool in 1909. Around seven ghost-spotters saw the levitating light, which was also picked up by an infra red camera.

As if that wasn’t scary enough, when visitors and paranormal investigators called for Lord Caton’s name, all the alarms in the building went off.

Pamela Robinette, a member of the Merseyside-based Sefton Paranormal Investigators, said: “We continued to direct questions to Richard Caton for two hours and have documented evidence of 17 occurrences in which the alarm was set off.

“Spookily, each time this happened the temperature would drop by a staggering five degrees just before.”

The ghostly orb crossed the path of the group as they approached the foot of the main staircase – the same place people have reported seeing the unexplained figure of a man and his dog.

Explaining how Sefton Paranormal seek out their poltergeists, co-founder and leading investigator Pamela said: “When we reached the medical library we set up electro-magnetic field sensors, known as rempods on the outer side of the room. If we did make contact then the sensor should detect the electro magnetic field that all spirits possess and set off an audible alarm.”

Further footage captured by the team appears to record an unexplained voice in the background, which can be heard saying “pardon”.

“It was such a fantastic night,” added fearless Pamela, who said one of the team who had previously been sceptical about ghosts was completely converted by the experience.

“When all the alarms went off together it was very strange.”

One of the oldest medical societies in the world, the LMI is no stranger to spectral sightings in its Victorian lecture theatre and library. But the historical building isn’t the only place where spooky happenings have been spotted in Merseyside.

A floating torso, a purple-faced girl and hanged Highlanders are just three of the 42 terrifying tales of paranormal activity in the region over the years.

The torso – known as the Ghost of Lime Street – has been repeatedly seen over hundreds of years with recent witnesses describing the phantom as being quite tall, though the legs could not be seen, with the mouth silently moving.

Elsewhere, in Huyton, one local myth says certain streets were home to a blue or purple-faced young girl who would follow families with children.Newton-le-Willows is home to the story of the hanged Highlanders who were Caught by Cromwellian troops and immediately hanged on trees surrounding Hermitage Green Lane.

The sound of running is rumoured to be audible in the area around the anniversary of their executions.

The reports – taken from a paranormal activity database website – range from the horrifying to the ridiculous, with several people, including an off-duty policeman, reporting “slipping back in time” while walking along Bold Street.

The spooky spot is rumoured to have transported people back to a road paved in cobbles, surrounded by antiquated shops and street-dwellers attired in 1940s clothing.